Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (1878-1946), born as John Arthur Johnson, is often regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. Nicknamed the Galveston Giant, he was the first ever black boxer to win the world heavyweight boxing championship. The son of former slaves, he had to drop out of school at an early age to find work in order to supplement his family income. Tall and well built, the youngster planned on taking up boxing and made his professional debut in a boxing match at the age of 20. He was once arrested for illegal prizefighting with veteran boxer Joe Choynski and the two were imprisoned together—this turned out to be a boon in disguise as the young Johnson got the opportunity to learn the techniques and nuances of the sport from the older and experienced Choynski. Johnson became a very successful boxer and became the world Coloured heavyweight champion—a title he defended 17 times. Bigger success was to follow when he defeated white boxer Tommy Burns to become the first black world heavyweight boxing champion. Accorded the status of a celebrity athlete, he also had his share of controversies mainly because of his involvement and subsequent marriages with white women which was a rarity during those times when interracial marriages were virtually unheard of. Biography Early life Jack Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas, in 1878. Johnson was born to former slaves Henry and Tina. His parents worked hard to raise their large family consisting of several children. Due to family circumstances the young Jack had to drop out of school at an early age to work as a dock boy and support his family. He began boxing locally as a teenager. Early career He started fighting professionally in 1898 at the age of 20 and won the Texas State Middleweight Title defeating Charley Brooks. He got his first big opportunity in 1899 when he fought against the African-American heavyweight John Haines who fought under the name of ‘Klondike’. Johnson lost the fight on a technical knock-out in the fifth round. He fought experienced boxer Joe Choynski in 1901 and lost out to him in the third round. Since their fight was considered illegal at that time, both the boxers were arrested and imprisoned. During their time together in jail, Choynski became Johnson’s mentor and taught him many boxing skills. In 1903, he won his first title--the World Colored Heavyweight Championship—by beating Denver Ed Martin in a 20-round match. He defended this title 17 times and held it till 1908. With his eyes now on the World Heavyweight Championship, he challenged the reigning champion James Jeffries. Jeffries, a white boxer, however, refused to fight with a black man. Burns vs Johnson The Canadian boxer Tommy Burns became the World Heavyweight Champion in 1906 and he challenged boxers of all races and ethnicities to come and fight with him. In December 1908, Burns agreed to spar with the black boxer and Johnson created history by beating Burns to become the first black Heavyweight Champion of the World. Later bouts and death The former world champion James Jeffries who had retired undefeated years ago decided to come out of retirement to take on Johnson. In 1910, the two boxing greats fought each other in what was called ‘The Fight of the Century’ which Johnson won easily. The triumph of a black man over a white one led to racial tensions and riots all across the U.S. Johnson decided not to fight against black boxers during the initial years after becoming the world champion and he was criticized for denying other blacks a chance at winning the championship. Johnson was the reigning world champion till 1915 when he was knocked out by Jess Willard in the 26th round of the fight in the heavyweight title and Willard took the championship. He continued fighting professionally till the age of 60. He was killed in a car crash on June 10, 1946 at the age of 68. Record and Statistics Statistics Name: Jack Johnson Nationality: American Nicknames: Galveston Giant Weight: Heavyweight Height: 6'0'' '' Stance: Orthodox Boxing Record Fights: 101 Wins: 73 Wins by KO: 40 Losses: 13 Draws: 10 No contests: 5 Category:Heavyweight boxing champions Category:Boxers Category:Heavyweight boxers Category:World heavyweight boxing champions Category:African-American boxers